Roberts in second place after opening day of Western Athletic Conference decathlon

ARLINGTON — Ryan Roberts got the UTSA men's track & field team off to a solid start on Wednesday at the Western Athletic Conference Championships, as the freshman sits in second place through the first five events of the decathlon.

Competing in the first outdoor multi-event competition of his young career, the 6-foot-5, 185-pounder scored 3,750 points and he trails only UT Arlington's Romain Martin, who accounted for 3,885 on the opening day of the four-day meet.

Roberts finished strong by registering a 49.99 in the 400 meters, which was the afternoon's top time and good for 815 points. He also leaped to the second-best long jump measurement, a career-best 22-4 ¼ (6.82m), and that added 771 points to his total. The Austin native also scored 858 tallies in the first event of the day, the 100m, following a third-place, wind-aided time of 11.01.

Levi Jordan also positioned himself to score points in the two-day event by recording Wednesday's seventh-best total (3,235). His top performance came in the shot put, where he had the afternoon's second-best measurement with a 42-9 (13.03m).

The decathlon's final five disciplines will be contested on Thursday, while the majority of the meet will get underway the following afternoon.